Lewis | March 25, 2015 | 0 Comments
That’s right; you did read the title of this blog post correctly!
It may sounds strange, extraordinary, or even downright ridiculous to a few of you, but it is true. If you make a few wise decisions when landscaping your garden, you can save money on your household expenses, such as heating and electricity. It actually isn’t that crazy when the notion is explained. Energy consumption by households across the UK is a concern from a number of different angles. For one, they result in a large expenditure for you, the homeowners. Another is the concern for the environment. The only entities that believe it isn’t a problem are the energy companies that seem to constantly increase prices!
When it comes to design of your garden, the instant thoughts many of us have relate to colours, planting schemes, and the general ‘feel’ of the space. However, a reason to plant trees and shrubs in your garden that doesn’t instantly spring to mind is the conservation of energy; they can actually help reduce the heating and cooling costs of your home. There are a few factors to consider, of course, such as the Sun’s angle, what direction your home is facing, as well as the direction of the Summer and Winter winds.
During the Summer, for example, instead of expensive air conditioning, or wasting energy on plugging in cooling fans and other electrical appliances, you can create shade to keep your home cool, thereby reducing your energy bills. So to do this, consider planting high tress, such as oaks. Remember to find the balance, though. You may want to keep your home cool during the Summer, but you will want to maximise your home’s exposure to the Sun’s rays to help heat your home during the Winter months. Therefore, ensure you adopt a careful tree selection process; those that block the high Summer Sun, but those who also do not block the rays of the Sun during the Winter, when it is markedly lower in the sky. So maybe consideration for leaf fall is needed.
Wind is an equally important factor in this concept. As your home can lose a considerable amount of heat on those cold days, careful tree selection and planting can help block these winds, acting as a natural windbreak. As a result, the need to turn the heating up is lessened. Ideal trees for these windbreaks are evergreens, such as leylandii, a popular choice in the UK for hedgerows. They will have a greater impact on energy loss than deciduous trees, for example, that shed their leaves in the Autumn.
So, a lot to think about! This was a particularly enjoyable one for our marketing team to research and write; we hope you enjoyed it, too!
